Long, cosy winter evenings are best spent enjoying yourself in the company of great people. So the island’s restaurants are putting on a whole range of festive menus and programmes that are every bit as colourful as Ibizan culture itself. We’ve put together 13 tips to help our readers to make the most of the festivities – whether they’re looking for exclusive cuisine or rustic fare and prefer a calm location or a place brimming with the holiday spirit.
Have fun – and bon appetit!

Ars Vivendi

Gourmet food lovers know that Ars Vivendi has long been the place to spend Christmas and New Year on the island. This year manager Mattias will once again be serving up a range of delicacies to get your mouth watering.

Here’s an excerpt from the menu on offer: on Christmas Eve and other Yuletide holidays, you will be served a four course dinner with foie gras, strudel with quince puree, caramelised apples and pomegranate molasses: the menu also offers fillet of turbot in champagne sauce on a bed of winter greens, Iberico fillet wrapped in ham and served with a cherry sauce and a chanterelle mushroom puree.To follow, you can enjoy a honey and poppy seed parfait with spiced oranges.

The entire menu is available from 1 p.m. for 34,50 euros. Ars Vivendi will be seeing in the New Year with a seven course menu that includes veal consomme with truffle ravioli, scallops with Iberico ham, monkfish with grilled langoustine, fillet of steak with an armagnac and pepper sauce and white chocolate and rose petal ice cream with marinated raspberries. The menu will be served from 7.30 p.m. for 74 euros a head. The restaurant will be open on New Year’s Day from 5 p.m.

Located on the road from Eivissa to Santa Gertrudis, 300 metres after the Eivissa-Sta. Eularia junction on your left
Call 971 19 17 89 to book a table

Bistro del Mar

A sunny day in December is a great time to take a walk through the Santa Eularia marina and if you don’t feel like slaving away over the stove this Christmas or New Year, you can stop off at Bistro del Mar to, for example, enjoy a dinner of turkey with red cabbage and mashed potatoes. But there’s plenty of seasonal cheer to be had in the run-up to Christmas, too.

From 7th December, the restaurant will be catering for early birds every Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. A DJ will be playing classic hits and customers are encouraged to hit the dance floor. The daily lunch menu (priced from 7,50 euros) is available throughout December.

A big party is planned to welcome in the New Year: On New Year’s Eve, you can enjoy great music at the Bistro del Mar and dance your way into next year. A cold buffet will be served, plus champagne so that you can clink glasses with your fellow revellers at midnight. Just to make sure that everyone survives the happy event, a hearty Serbian style soup will be served as the night wears on. The restaurant is open all day on New Year’s Day.

in Santa Eularia marina
Call 971 33 86 51 to book a table

Cafe Sidney

A Christmas and New Year’s buffet and a party on New Year’s Eve: Cafe Sidney has a lot on its plate for this festive season. This goes for both Cafe Sidneys: the one in Botafoch marina and the one in Santa Eularia. On Christmas Day, 25th December, Cafe Sidney in Ibiza’s marina will be serving up a generous Christmas brunch.

On Christmas Eve they’ll be open during the day. On Wednesday, 31st December, the big New Year’s Eve party kicks off with music and plenty of surprises. Foodwise, you can look forward to a real feast with several courses. You can pick your starters and desserts from the buffet and select a main course from the menu. Dinner starts at 8 p.m.

On 1st January, New Year’s Day, Sidney will be ringing in the new with a hearty buffet that will chase away any hangovers from the night before. The buffet opens at midday. Cafe Sidney in Santa Eularia will be open to early birds looking for some pre-Christmas cheer on Wednesday, 24th December. This will be followed by a Christmas dinner menu on 25th December. On Wednesday, 31st December, the New Year’s Eve party will get into the swing of things in Santa Eularia, and a buffet will also be served on New Year’s Day. If you plan to stop by at either of the Sidneys, we strongly recommend booking in advance.

Bistro magnus

Magnus feels that a gourmet dinner is to Christmas and New Year’s Eve what a Christmas tree is to the festive season. This year, the restaurant in Botafoch marina will be offering some great meals over the holidays, including stuffed Christmas goose and roasted venison, as well as fillet of perch and beef broth with home-made ravioli.

On New Year’s Eve, the gourmet menu will include beef carpaccio, venison goulash and Muscovy duck a l’orange. The live band, “The Beat Brothers”, will ring in the New Year – and the New Year’s Eve festivities tend to go on till dawn. We recommend calling to book a table, particularly around Christmas and New Year. The restaurant will be open daily from midday to midnight during the holiday season, and until 8 p.m. on Christmas Eve. After 1st January, it will open from 3 p.m.

In Botafoch marina
Please call 971 193 759 to reserve a table.

Cana Sofia

New Year’s Eve on the beach: if this is your dream, then Cana Sofi a, located in Cala Vedella in the west of Ibiza, is the place to go. To mark the end-of-year festivities, this gourmet restaurant is holding a large New Year’s Eve dinner that includes lobster, jabugo ham, seafood, goose liver parfait, sea bass, suckling pig from Avila, plus a dessert.

The entire menu costs 97,50 euros and comes with musical accompaniment by a live band. Traditional Spanish cotillon bags, filled with confetti, masks and paper chains, will be distributed as part of the New Year’s celebrations and let’s not forget the obligatory grapes to welcome in the New Year. If you want to pay Cana Sofia a visit over Christmas or on any other day this December, the restaurant will re-open on 4th December on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays from midday to 5 p.m. and on Fridays, Saturdays and public holidays from midday to 5 p.m. and from 6.30 to 11 p.m.

During the Christmas and New Year period, Cana Sofi a will be open on 25th and 31st December, as well as on January 1st.

Cala Vedella
Call 971 808 273 or 679 465 744 to book a table

Cardamom Club

You might think that Christmas markets with mulled wine and twinkling lights are more likely in places like the UK, but now the Cardamom Club, the Indian restaurant in Santa Eularia, has taken up the tradition and organised a real Christmas party. During the day, the finca’s annex will host an arts and crafts fair where visitors can shop for original Christmas gifts.

They will also have the chance to refresh themselves with small snacks, a lunchtime special, or a glass of mulled wine. Santa will be on the scene to keep the kids happy. “The place is going to be full of Christmas spirit,” promises Navine Kumari, who runs the Cardomom Club with Craig Colligan. From 7.30 p.m. a DJ will be at the decks to play a selection of music while guests can order dishes from the menu. It looks as if the Christmas party will be taking place on 21st December, but the date couldn’t be confirmed as we went to press.

The restaurant will be closed on Christmas Day itself. However, you can still hire rooms for private functions with catering. For New Year’s Eve, the Cardamom Club is planning a party with a DJ, drinks and snacks from 8 p.m. onwards – followed by cava and grapes at midnight. The party is designed as a family event. Anyone who is interested in finding out more should give the restaurant a call this December and ask for Navine.

“La Posada” country house Santa Eularia,
To reserve a table at the restaurant, call 971 33 00 17
For more information about Christmas and New Year’s Eve parties or catering services,
call 696 77 39 84

Casa Colonial

For many years, Casa Colonial, the restaurant on the road from Eivissa to Santa Eularia, has been considered one of the island’s most attractive locations. This gorgeous finca is well worth a visit during the festive season too. On 24th December Chef Wolfgang will be serving a five course dinner with a festive flavour. There will be a choice of two main courses, which will be kept secret until the very last minute. The whole meal will set you back 58 euros and will be served from 7 p.m. onwards.

On Christmas Day and Boxing Day, Casa Colonial will be keeping up the pace. That means that you can either opt for the Christmas menu mentioned above or order ‘a la carte’ on 25th and 26th December from 7 p.m. We recommend booking in advance to secure a table on any of these days. The restaurant will be outdoing itself on New Year’s Eve: from 8 p.m. onwards, it will be serving a seven course menu for 78 uros, followed by grapes at midnight, as well as a fireworks display and New Year’s Eve ball to welcome in the coming year.

Incidentally, the dancing will start long before midnight and if you manage to last until the early hours, breakfast will be served at 8 a.m. You will have to book in advance for the New Year’s Eve menu, but anyone who happens to be in the neighbourhood and in the mood is welcome to attend the New Year’s Eve ball.

El Comodin

Christmas goose fans will feel right at home in El Comodin. Head chef Frank will be serving up the traditional dinner from 7 p.m. on the evenings of 25th and 26th December. You will have to reserve a table in advance as Frank needs to know when to fire up his oven. You can also order ‘a la carte’, if you prefer and this means choosing from plenty of game dishes all through December and January – dishes such as wild boar, hare and venison.

Again, we strongly recommend booking in advance. Apart from this, it will be business as usual at lunchtime (1 to 4 p.m.) on the 25th and 26th. The same goes for Christmas Eve, though the restaurant will be closed in the evening. On 31st December, El Comodin will be open for lunch from 1 to 4 p.m. and for dinner from 7.40 p.m. A four course menu with cava and grapes will be served to see in the New Year. Please book in advance if you want the four course menu. El Comodin will also be offering a takeaway service for residents that evening. On New Year’s Day, the restaurant will be open at lunchtime only.

Can Furnet
Please call 971 190 769 to make a reservation

Brisa de la Mar

Traditional seasonal cuisine typical to the islands and your feet in the sand as you survey the blue sea and sky that serve as wallpaper at this chiringuito on Cala Pada beach. They’re open every day from noon till dusk and the dishes you’ll find on your visit include: Cochillo al Horno, Ternera asado con setas, Cordero al Horno, Ganso tradicion Navidad, Pato Pekin & Pescado de la Isla al Horno.

Alternatively if you and your party require something special all you have to do is ask beforehand. This popular restaurant asks that you reserve for group bookings as space inside is limited if the weather proves to be inclement.

Madrigal

Madrigal sets a lot of store by tradition, particularly around Christmas, which is why they are inviting you to join them for a Christmas lunch on 24th December from midday onwards. As usual – and talk about a great custom – it will be serving lentil stew with mulled wine. There’s no need to call ahead to reserve a table.

The festive programme continues on 25th and 26th December. On both days, you will have two Christmas menus to choose from. Just to whet your appetite, here’s a taster of what will be on offer: Menu 1 (priced at 43 euros) consists of goose liver parfait, roast fattened goose and pumpkin mousse: Menu 2 (for 59 euros) offers you home-cured salmon, consomme a la Lady Cruzon, venison steak and pannetone parfait. The restaurant is open on 25th and 26th December from 1.30 to 3.30 p.m. for lunch and from 7 p.m. to midnight for dinner.

Madrigal will also be serving a special menu on New Year’s Eve. However, we hadn’t received the details as we went to press. You should try to make a reservation for Christmas or New Year. The restaurant will be open next year from 1st January. For opening hours, please contact the restaurant.

Madrigal in Botafoch marina
To reserve a table, call 971 311 107.

Restaurant Martina

Over Christmas and the New Year Jose Ferrer’s Restaurant Martina will be doing business as usual. The restaurant near the Punta Arabi club, on Cala Martina beach near Es Canar, will be open to customers throughout the Christmas period, as well as on New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day. In other words, it will be open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

It won’t be serving any special Christmas or New Year’s menus, but there are plenty of dishes to choose from on the menu. So if you happen to be taking a walk along the beach at Cala Martina with your family, friends and dog, you can stop off for a coffee and a bite to eat whenever you fancy – or to treat yourself to something a little different on Christmas Eve or New Year’s Eve…

Sunseabar

Sunseabar in Santa Eularia harbour is ready for New Year’s Eve – it will be putting on a hearty breakfast the next day to fend off any hangovers. As always on New Year’s Day, it will be sticking to its motto that “if it’s fish, it’s our dish”. “Basically just what you need to get back on your feet after an alcohol fuelled New Year’s Eve party,” explains manager, Christiane.

Everyone knows that pickled or fried herring, trout and prawn cocktail always taste twice as good after a long night’s partying. In keeping with German tradition, the restaurant will also be serving New Year’s doughnuts and Munich sausage and if the sun decides to come out to play, you’ll even be able to sit out on the Sunseabar’s terrace and take in the healthy sea breeze. The restaurant will be closed on 24th and 31st December: otherwise it will be open from midday onwards.

Santa Eularia harbour
Reservations can be made by calling 971 31 90 24

Trattoria del Mar

Would you like to find out more about traditional Neapolitan Christmas fare? If so, you should stop off at the Trattoria del Mar in Botafoch marina over Christmas. Head chef Luciano is guaranteed to have plenty of culinary surprises up his sleeve – dishes cooked from recipes that have been in his family for generations, such as smoked salmon with goat’s cheese and herbs, home-made cannelloni in a clam, calamari and chick pea stock, or stuffed tortellini in beef broth.

The restaurant’s staples are also pretty tempting. Luciano recommends trying the spaghetti with clams, or veal cutlet in truffle sauce. The desserts are just as full of the Christmas spirit. On New Year’s Eve, the trattoria crew are planning a celebratory dinner menu. The view of the harbour and the floodlit old town from the restaurant add romance. Contact the restaurant for more information about the New Year’s Eve menu. Tables must be booked in advance.